Messages - anthony

One of the things I found interesting in this video is that they seem to be against check valves on carbonation stones since they make the stones have inconsistent wetting pressures... but what is the alternative? I can't believe that they recommend not having any way to prevent beer back flow into CO2 lines.

For us, federal and state excise taxes make up about 19% of our cost on an average beer. As you get larger and you take advantage of economies of scale AND you pay the larger tax rate, I could easily see the cost being 40% of the costs.

Surprisingly durable... I think I am on my second pair, we bought them in October 2013. Some of my assistant brewers are on their third+ pair though. Thick enough that they shield heat, thin enough that you can still move your fingers, grip things, etc.

Wyeast 2487 Hella Bock YeastBeer Styles: Lager, Oktoberfest/Marzen, Munich Dunkel, Schwarzbier, Traditional Bock, Maibock/Helles Bock, Dopplebock, Eisbock Profile: Direct from the Austrian Alps, this strain will produce rich, full-bodied and malty beers with a complex flavor profile and a great mouth feel. Attenuates well while still leaving plenty of malt character and body. Beers fermented with this strain will benefit from a temperature rise for a diacetyl rest at the end of primary fermentation.

Depending on where you are looking to contract, even a small contract can be useful because it can allow you to transfer part of other breweries' contracts to your contract. This allows you to lock-in the hops but delay delivery to more reasonable increments (i.e. a 11 pound box at a time). Exact policy and procedure for this varies with each supplier obviously.

Force MajeureNeither Buyer or Seller shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform under this Agreement if such delay or failure is due to any contingency beyond its reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, explosion, fire, bad weather, flood, accident, civil disturbances, strike, plant shutdown, major equipment failure, compliance with any applicable governmental regulation or order, or shortage or an inability to obtain (on commercially reasonable terms) any Product, raw material, equipment or transportation. The party experiencing any delay or failure in its performance resulting from the above causes shall give prompt written notice thereof to the other party. Shipments of any Product in transit to Buyer, however, must be accepted by Buyer.

{P}henolic {O}ff {F}lavor… very few POF+ yeasts are used in brewing but a number of wine yeasts are POF+.

Actually, quite a few brewing strains are POF+. In fact, as I mentioned above, many British strains POF+ to some extent. True POF- strains do not throw phenolic flavors when fermented really warm. Lager strains are generally never POF+. They just throw other types of trash when fermented warm.

There are a number of yeast strains, isolated from breweries, that are POF+. I stand by my original comment that in modern breweries, the vast majority of yeasts in use are, in fact, not POF+.

A word of advice to anyone who is interested in capturing wild yeast. The best time to do it is in the fall after the average daytime temperature drops to around 70F. If one waits until the daytime drops to below 60F, then one will be collecting cold tolerant strains. Most wild yeast strains are POF+.

2 questions. Are cold tolerant strains less preferable and what is POF?

{P}henolic {O}ff {F}lavor… very few POF+ yeasts are used in brewing but a number of wine yeasts are POF+.

Yeah, that setup didn't really scream brewery or even brewpub to me… well I wish you the best of luck, I know winter can be pretty brutal up there in terms of reduction of traffic, etc. But if you keep all your costs low enough, don't go crazy extravagant on the food, etc. you should be able to weather some pretty lean months.

Years and years ago, I used to stop for gas at that place when I was in town for skiing at Ski Cooper… or in summertime when we would camp around Turquoise Lake… my wife and I have had many a trip to Mount Elbert Lodge out in Twin Lakes as well.. sounds like it may be time to make another trip

Much like others, I look at this as an art and it seems silly to completely prevent myself from leveraging a specific tool in the arsenal to achieve whatever end result I am looking for. But I am also very cognizant of the fact that my works of art follow my own aesthetic, so if I don't particularly care for the end result that a specific tool contributes to the process, it is pretty likely that I won't use it… that brings its own risks too though. If I decide that I hate the color purple and my task is to paint a sunset, I will have to work pretty hard to do what everyone else is just going to use purple for… Ansel Adams (black and white photographer) took some pretty dramatic sunset pictures with some very limited tools but he was a master with the tools he chose to use and that is what I strive for in my own art.